Advanced Practice Nurse (Nurse Practitioner) - Primary Care

Summary

This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until September 30, 2027. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications and subsequent cut-off dates are on the 1st of each month. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled

Duties

Located in the city's historic Southside district, the Birmingham VA Medical Center (BVAMC) is a 313-bed acute tertiary care facility providing medical and surgical services to Veterans across Alabama and neighboring states. Serving as a regional referral center, the BVAMC currently operates 139 beds and offers care across nearly all medical and surgical specialties and subspecialties. Most staff physicians hold joint appointments with the VA and its primary academic affiliate, the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The BVAMC also operates nine community-based outpatient clinics across North Alabama. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards. This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply. Learn more. Pay: Competitive salary, regular salary increases, potential for performance awards Paid Time Off: 50 days of paid time off per year (26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year). Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA. Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement). Licensure: 1 full and unrestricted license from any US State or territory. Major Duties/Responsibilities for this position include but are not limited to: The Nurse Practitioner (NP) is an advanced practice registered nurse that works under a Scope of Practice and has prescriptive authority to diagnose and treat acute and chronic health problems. The NP follows established guidelines to provide coordinated health care to the adult and geriatric population. The NP performs independently or in collaboration with the provider to carry out the plan of care for the Veteran. He/she appropriately delegates to other Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) members, but is responsible for diagnosing and treating medical problems, care coordination to higher level of care, and making complex clinical decisions. The NP will serve as the leader of the PACT teamlet, that consists of an RN, LPN/Clinical Associate, and Advanced Medical Support Assistant (AMSA). The NP optimizes care delivery and provides care to patients with acute problems, patients undergoing transitions of care, and patients with chronic conditions who would benefit in developing and performing self-management skills for chronic conditions especially diabetes, hypertension, CHF, hyperlipidemia, pain, and depression. The NP utilizes motivational interviewing techniques to facilitate patient development of patient driven goals for health optimization and will be required to attend a formal Motivational Interviewing course. The NP must demonstrate leadership in delivering and improving holistic care by utilizing health promotion and disease prevention and whole health strategies. The NP uses face to face, telephone, and video virtual care visits, and secure messaging, to provide care to patients. The NP develops the appropriate plan of care and tracks patient outcomes to determine if interventions are effective. The NP will document timely, appropriately, and effectively in the medical record; ensure the patient's care plan contains medical recommendations for clinically indicated care; and communicate test results and plans of care to patients or ensure this is accomplished by clinical support staff in a timely and effective manner. The NP performs clinical assessments; triages face to face or virtually; in collaboration with the patient to identify goals for optimizing health; provides patient/family education to improve outcomes, evaluates patient's progress or lack of progress toward achieving goals; and performs case management activities and care coordination activities for those patients assigned to the team who require those services. The NP will participate in team performance improvement and sustainment activities to optimize team efficiency and care delivery; provide leadership to the PACT including shared delegation of appropriate care and care processes to appropriate team members. The NP will report directly to the Primary Care Director and/or Associate Chief of Staff of Primary Care. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM or 7:30am -4:00pm. Subject to change based on the needs of the agency.

Requirements

U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. English Language Proficiency. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(f), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). You may be required to serve a probationary period. Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Qualifications and evaluation

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment. NOTE: Candidate's education, scope, and length of nursing practice (experience) will be considered in determining the grade and salary of the applicant selected. The recommended salary may be at any point in the range listed for this vacancy. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

How to apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 09/30/2027 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13087543. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

Required documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes: Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV) The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc. Cover Letter DD-214/ Statement of Service Disability Letter (VA) License Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV) Other (1) PCS Orders Performance Appraisal Professional Certification Separation Notice (RIF) SF-15 SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Transcript Veterans' Preference Note: Preference eligible candidates and other Veterans will be given preference when qualification of candidates are approximately equal for Title 38 positions in VHA. When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

Additional information

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.